'Arrow:' Pilot Episode Review

Five years after being stranded on an island in the China Sea, Oliver Queen—the sole survivor of his father’s cruise ship—is rescued and returned to his home of Sterling City. He is very different, having survived off the land on his skills and wits, and plans on righting the wrongs that set his father on a path to destruction. Armed with his tenacity, archery skills, and a willingness to change things for the better, he plans on taking on the scum of the city while continuing to portray the charismatic playboy that he’s so famous for.

MINOR SPOILERS BELOW

While part of me wishes that the show kept some of the background established in the Smallville continuity, I really like the visual aspects that the show brings to the television screen. Here is a man who has a sense of integrity and personal honor, caring not so much for what is right and wrong, but rather what is right for his city, and what wrongs have been brought against his family. His fighting skills are rather impressive—which is strange, given he’s been on an unpopulated island for five years—and he knows how to be deceptive and cunning. His survival skills allow him to get out of sticky situations and to get to places of his own choosing, but it appears that at least one person is getting close to figuring out what he’s up to.

One of the things I wasn’t really keen on was the use of internal monologue throughout the episode. A monologue can be very useful at times, especially in order to relay information to the audience, but it is rather annoying if used in excess—which it was done. Another part of the show that, while not really annoying, was hard to accept was the reality of the skills with electronics that Oliver seems to have. He’s been stranded for five years with no usable technology, rescued and nearly immediately returns home, and yet he’s able to use electronics so well that he can create an arrow that accesses secure bank information of a millionaire, as well as set up a computerized infrastructure to transfer the funds in an untraceable fashion. Five years is a huge time for computer advancements, and even people who have been around them the entire time have problems dealing with the changes. So, how can Oliver—who, albeit, is a smart individual—readily be able to use the technology?

I eagerly await to see what else is going to arise in the series; there’s obviously tension between Laurel Lance and Oliver, as well as Laurel’s father—who by himself is a great character, the funny and charming police detective—so where is that going to play out in the future? And, given the fact that his mother is manipulative and deceptive beyond all concept of reality, just how is he going to deal with her once her machinations become known to him? The show promises to be much in the future. Let’s just hope that it lives up to those promises.